The Return of Dracula
by Potterhead101
Summary: Three years after his defeat in 1885, Count Dracula has been resurrected by Dark Magic and has married Queen Victoira. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

The sounds of a violin echoed slowly through the glistening marble-and-gold concert hall. The fat and rather toad-like man who stood on the raised podium in the center of the room had his heavy eyelids closed gently, apparently relishing the sounds of his own instruments hum.

His name was George Grimly, one of the richest, and most talented, men in Victorian London.

He finally ceased his solo and opened his eyelids, which now revealed a lovely shade of blue that looked very out of place on the otherwise unattractive features of the man. He held his hands up to indicate that he was finished and the room filled with thunderous applause.

He bowed deeply, so deeply that his crooked nose nearly touched the floor and his high curled gray wig almost fell to the floor, revealing that under it was a full head of honey-colored curly hair.

He was wearing an unbuttoned blue tailcoat with gold buttons all down it, and under that a bright red vest over his ruffled shirt. Under his many chins was a sickly-colored moss green bowtie.

The crowd, mostly composed of high-class men dressed similarly to him and their elegantly-dressed wives and mistresses clapped hand wildly, but Lord Grimly had no eye for any of them. His sight was on the serene woman sitting high above dance-floor in a private box draped with patriotic Union Jack flags.

To each side of her was a tall, red-coated guard, wearing ridiculously impractical gloves, bearskin hats, and golden cuffs. They were for style, not protection.

And beside her was another man, her suitor since the death of her husband.

He had slick black hair and dark, penetrating eyes. His name was Vladimir Dracula, he was a count of sorts from Transylvania.

When the Queen caught his eye she smiled slightly, the corners of her aging cheeks going up slightly, but the Count stared blankly on.

Grimly began a second solo, this one much more dramatic, and he did not close his eyes this time, but kept them locked on the count. Slowly he reached for the revolver tucked indiscriminately down his vest, tossed the instrument away, and shot a single round at the count.

Many of the spectators cried out, running for cover amidst the spray of bullets. Dracula stood with the air of someone both angry and a little surprised, and made not a move as six bullets shot through his chest, not affecting him in the least.

He screamed, an unholy thing, and grabbed the horrified noblewoman standing next to him, opening his jaws demonically wide, he savagely bit through the thin, sagging skin on her neck, sending spurts of blood on the uniforms of the nearby soldiers, where they left indiscernible stains on the already scarlet jackets.

Grimly cursed under his breath, shedding his heavy jacket and wig, and running to the oak double doors that led outside of the premises.

But when he turned the large brass knob he found it locked.

"Leaving so soon,_ mein Freund_?" said a silky voice from behind him.

Grimly did not have to turn to see who it was. The tall shadow that had appeared on the wall before him shone with the gaunt features of the count.

Grimly turned on his heel.

"Drac-"

George Grimly never finished addressing his adversary before the vampire closed in on him, giving him time only to scream in pain as the fangs cut into the aging skin on his neck.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

"'The last will and testament of Lord George Michael Grimly, Esq.'" read the tall, droning lawyer, "'I, Lord George Michael Grimly, Esq., of Southwick, Wales, being sound of body and mind, appoint this will to the care of my attorneys, Messrs. McIntyre, MacArthur, Mulligan, and Smood, in the hopes that they will', etc., etc." The lawyer, Mr. Smood, flipped tiredly through the pages of the will, finally reaching the part he was looking for: "To my grand-niece, Elizabeth Grimly-Jolly, I leave my estate, in the hopes that she and her husband, Master Matthew Grimly-Jolly, will honor it as I once did."

A wispy woman in a corner of the large law firm was shaking in excitement, along with her rather beefy husband.

"I leave my entire fortune to my illegitimate son, Sir George Michael Johnson, wishing that he will overcome discrimination by becoming one of the richest men in our United Kingdom."

A grim-looking gentlemen in lower-class clothes nodded in silent acknowledgement.

"Finally, to my fourth cousin, six times removed, Mr. Abraham Van Helsing, I leave my personal journal, for reasons disclosed only between he and I."

A rather scarred man in the opposite side of the room who had previously gone unnoticed, reached out his hand for Mr. Smood to place in it a very battered diary, marked with a strange symbol, while the others were left to sign deeds and bank transactions.

Mr. Van Helsing proceeded to leave the large building, meeting at the wrought-iron gates his friend, Jonathan Harker.

"I had no idea you were a descendant of Lord Grimly," said Harker promptly as the two men sat off down the cobblestone streets of London.

"Not quite," Van Helsing replied dispassionately, "He was a fellow in the … business. Vampire slayer."

"And his diary?" Harker eyed the battered book.

"It's no ordinary book," he chuckled, leading Jonathan into a dark side alley between a shop, Dervish and Bange's, and a Catholic church.

Leaning against a dumpster, ignoring the heavy flies that buzzed about it, Van Helsing ripped the book open, and Harker, looking over his soldier, saw several tattered and age-stained pages, written in a long, crooked scrawl. It looked quite like a student's journal was his first thought, and that would be the case, if students at Eton studied vampires.

The front of the book seemed to serve mostly as a reference. Atop one page he could just make out a paragraph:

"_It is difficult to make a single, definitive description of the vampire, though there are several elements common to many. Vampires are usually reported as bloated in appearance, and ruddy, purplish, or dark in colour; these characteristics were often attributed to the recent drinking of blood. Indeed, blood was often seen seeping from the mouth and nose when one was seen in --"_

Past that point the page was stained illegible by what seemed to be a large blot of blood.

As Van Helsing flipped through the pages, wearing a look similar to that of a child at a sweet shop, Harker saw that the middle of the book served as a report of Lord Grimly's own personal experiences, and in the back diagrams showing a cut-away side view of the anatomy of a fanged human's head. Helsing finally slammed the leather covers shut, and turned back to his partner.

"You have, of course, heard the news," said he, "Dracula has returned, and he has married Her Royal Highness."

Harker nodded, looking aghast, "Yes. How so? I thought we got rid of him three years ago!"

"As did I, as did I."

He glanced back down at the journal's cover, at the strange symbol: a heart, crossed by two swords, within a shield.

"What does it mean?" he asked, jerking his head at the mark.

Helsing pursed his lips. "It is the symbol of an ancient society dedicated to ridding the world of nosferatu. Grimly was a part of it, and so am I."

He slammed open a side door leading into the church to the left of the alleyway, and the door swung open loosely, as though its hinges were hanging on by a single screw.

Inside was a confession booth, which Harker followed, on his friend's request, into. Through the screen they could faintly make out of the silhouette of a rather large, bearded priest, who spoke in a deep voice, "How's the weather."

Jonathan Harker opened his mouth to reply it was rather dark and rainy out that day, as with most, but Van Helsing spoke first. "Sunny."

Although he couldn't see the man, Harker was sure the priest was smiling. "Correct," he said, and Harker nearly jumped as the priest pulled the screen separating them, and he saw that the man was not a religious figure at all, or, if he was, he was not clad in the garb normally worn by them.

Van Helsing pushed him through the open space, and then pulled himself through, and they saw that on the other side was a large chamber with a vaulted ceiling. It was very crowded, with dozens of people; scientists, monks, and people from nearly ever other walk of life. There were several spindly-legged tables, and on them sat an array of items; holy water, crossbows, wooden stakes, pistols. On the far wall was a tapestry containing the crest that was emblazoned on the diary cover.

"Welcome to the headquarters of the Era Silva," said Van Helsing, looking around, beaming.


End file.
